Work has finally been completed on a former department store transformed into flats - and here's a look inside.

The building on the corner of Fore Street and Church Walk in Trowbridge stood from 1879 until the 1990s as Knees, one of Wiltshire's oldest companies.

In 2023, Kerry and Craig Stone from Stone Developments Wiltshire submitted plans to transform the unused upper floors of the former department store into nine apartments, with three commercial retail shops, including Costa Coffee, on the ground floor.

“We have obtained planning permission to convert the unused, dilapidated upper floors into apartments and these will be sold on the open market once complete," Mr Stone previously told the Wiltshire Times.

“Costa Coffee will remain and we hope to split the old Thomas Cook unit into two smaller units, to keep rents affordable."

The new flats have now been advertised on RightMove, and a photographer from the Wiltshire Times was invited to tour the development with Kerry and Craig.

The new apartments stand in the former site of successful Wiltshire business Knees.The new apartments stand in the former site of successful Wiltshire business Knees. (Image: Trevor Porter)

"To date, we have completed over 36 developments and properties consisting of renovations, conversions, extensions and new builds," said the husband and wife team who founded Stone Developments in 2014.

"We work with a great team of local tradespeople and professionals and are proud of our track record in achieving planning consents, our reputation and attention to detail."

Prices for the new one and two-bed apartments above Thomas Cook range from £139,950 to £214,950.

The listing describes the site as an "impressive and attractive 1889 Bath Stone building which also offers enviable rooftop views across Trowbridge all within walking distance of the majority of amenities, bus routes and the railway station.

"The apartments will share a secure communal entrance with video door entry system and post boxes & a communal bin store."

 

Paying tribute to the site's history, two of the flats in this development have been named Henry's Quarter after Henry Knee, founder of the 1889 former department store that thrived there in Trowbridge for so many years.

The work has been carried out with a grant from the £16.3 million of Future High Street Funds awarded to Wiltshire Council for Trowbridge.